eat me drink me

Um, yum? When I was at the Edible Cocktail event a few weeks ago I met Rick Field of Rick’s Picks.  I had to go over and gush at him about his pickles (what’s a girl to do?), and he was flattered enough to send me a T-shirt with my favorite one: Smokra’.  Yes, spicy, pickled, okra with a splash of paprika.

The first time I tried Rick’s Picks was at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  They have an awesome pickle platter and the okra was on it.  Instantly I was hooked.  Rarely can I afford to get an $8 jar of the stuff, but when I do, I treasure it all the way to the brine.

I love Rick’s Picks, especially their Smokra‘, a delightfully spicy, paprika spiked pickled okra.  But what, pray tell, do you do with the wonderful brine leftover after you finish these addictive beauties?  The other day I was faced with such a conundrum, I didn’t want to throw it out, but saving it, really?  Well my answer was right on the jar: use as a meat marinate.  Yum.

So, I stopped by Whole Foods and bought a thick cut pork chop ($6.30) from the meat counter and brought it home.  There, I cut the piece of meat into six large chunks and plopped them into the jar.  Nothing could have been easier.  I let the pork sit for a couple days before I cooked it up in a frying pan.  No oil, no spice, just some heat to cook the meat.  After it browned in the juices on medium heat, I drained it and added some quartered Brussels sprouts.  That’s it, an easy, no mess meal.  When the meat was done, the spice of the brine shone through with a peppery tang.  Because it had sat in the marinate for so long, the pork was super moist.  Next time, I might try to put two pork chops in the jar and share, but I guess that means I need a new jar of Smokra’…oh darn.